1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a vapor separator for the fuel system of an internal combustion engine and, more particularly, to a fuel system vapor separator which has an enhanced water cooling feature and simplicity of manufacture due to the construction of its various parts.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has long been known in the internal combustion engine art that heat build up of an engine can adversely affect the fuel supply system by causing the fuel to become vaporized before it is introduced to the engine's combustion chambers. Such a condition is sometimes referred to as vapor lock. Not only does this condition interfere with proper engine combustion and consequent engine power performance, it can have a damaging effect on engine components by causing the engine to run too lean and overheat. It is particularly disadvantageous in fuel injected engines.
Devices are known for reducing or eliminating vaporized fuel in the fuel delivery system of internal combustion engines. Typically, such prior art devices include a housing through which fuel is passed and in which vapor is allowed to separate from the liquid fuel. The vapor is then vented to the atmosphere through a valve arrangement which may be operated by a float assembly. While such devices perform acceptably in many applications, they can be expensive to manufacture because of the intricacy of their component parts and their consequent requirement of relatively long assembly time. A further disadvantage of known vapor separators is that they must be sized for use with a specific engine and thus tooling costs can be expensive in order to manufacture a variety of sizes of vapor separators for use on differing size engines.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a fuel system vapor separator which is by its design relatively simple to manufacture and assemble in a variety of sizes. It is further desirable to provide such a vapor separator which operates more efficiently than prior art devices by virtue of also having a fuel cooling feature.